Tom Watson wrote (in part)...

I'm thinking about just using the damn plastic ones. They may be plastic,
but they sure look good. Much nicer than any chess sets I've ever had
before, and I've had wood in the past.

snip

I think that the color is only part of the design thinking. I like
pieces with some heft to them.

Interesting, these two points. The best playing set around, especially
for fast time controls, is the plastic triple-weighted "Ultimate" set:

http://www.wholesalechess.com/chess_...e+Chess+Pieces

The third micro-thumbnail at the left links to a nice image of the set.
(No affiliation with that site, BTW; I just DAGS to find an image of the
set.)

If you want, I can get you the weights of all the pieces.

Here's the set that I'm using for a model:

http://www.shopuschess.org/cgi-bin/S...548+1073169214

Yours is prettier. I had mentioned about the pawn collars breaking if you
did your pieces in ebony, but I don't think they will with this design.
(I should have followed the link the first time.) The queen's crown would
be a problem, though, as will the knights nose and mouth, and possibly
the tops of the rooks. If you're willing to alter the design a bit you
might be able to avoid those thin cross sections.

http://home.comcast.net/~tjwatson1/page31.htm

Ha, ha, ha! I should have followed this link before posting about the
Ultimate set! Oh, well, I'll leave that part in for the humor of it.
Jeez.

Jim